Ask Amy: Cancer during a pandemic is overwhelming
Dear Amy: My parents are not concerned about COVID. They believe the liberal media has blown it out of proportion and they refuse to take precautions.
My family and I, however, do. I decided to stop our limited outdoor visits when I learned they were attending a church that also did not follow precautionary measures.
When I refused to take my kids (ages 6 and 9) to a birthday party at their house, both my parents and my adult siblings did not talk to me for a month.
Mom broke the silence to disclose that she was recently diagnosed with cancer. She is not the dramatic type and would not fabricate this diagnosis.
She has always said she would never undergo chemo or radiation. And she is sticking to that decision.
How can I handle this?
I don't know where to begin explaining to my kids that grandma is sick and will most likely die in the next year, AND that we can't go to her.
How do I say goodbye to my mother, and live with myself, while socially distancing? How do I navigate a funeral with a large extended family (Mom has nine siblings, with 40 adult married cousins and their children) most of whom probably don't follow COVID precautions, either.
I am absolutely gutted. I can't fathom how so many people have no regard for others around them.
— Cancer & COVID
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